On day of RCB stampede, BMRCL posted record ridership of 9.66 lakh commuters
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On the day a stampede broke out in Bengaluru while celebrating the victory of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL final, killing 11 and leaving scores injured, the Namma Metro witnessed unprecedented footfall. Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) recorded its highest-ever single-day ridership on June 4, with a total of 9,66,732 commuters boarding the metro.
Swelling crowds
The fan frenzy that gripped the city saw lakhs thronging the streets and public spaces, especially in the Central Business District (CBD), eventually resulting in a stampede that left 11 dead. The chaos prompted heavy reliance on the metro to manage the swelling crowds on June 4.
According to BMRCL officials, Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, M. G. Road, and Sir M. Visvesvaraya Central College metro stations — all located in the heart of the CBD — reported a sharp spike in usage.
According to BMRCL, Line 1 (Purple Line) recorded the highest passenger traffic with 4,78,334 boardings, while Line 2 (Green Line) saw 2,84,674 commuters. The Kempegowda interchange station at Majestic alone handled 2,03,724 passengers.
On June 4, amid the ongoing chaos near Chinnaswamy stadium and Vidhana Soudha, the BMRCL announced that trains would skip stops at Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Vidhana Soudha and Cubbon Park metro stations.
Spillover crowds
This led to a spillover of crowds at adjacent stations such as Sir M. Visvesvaraya Central College, M. G. Road, and Trinity, with the ripple effect extending all the way to Swami Vivekananda Road station. With metro access restricted near the core area, many commuters were seen walking several kilometres from the stadium vicinity to reach operational metro stations.
To manage the overwhelming rush, BMRCL allowed commuters to enter without scanning QR code tickets, smart cards, or tokens, which resulted in bottlenecks and congestion near the entry barricades. This indicates that ridership could have been much more than what was recorded. Several videos that surfaced on social media showed passengers jumping over fare gates to board the trains without paying for their rides.
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